Why Are You Even Here? The Surprising Attitudes of Some Expats in Thailand

[PINKERPINKER]

Recently been using BahtSmart to send money from Australia to Thailand and so far so good. I used to always send via the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) but here is an example of the savings I made on my last transfer. 10,400 baht with CBA at $434.86. 10,406 baht with BahtSmart at $400. A saving of $34.86. For those of you sending on a regular or semi-regular basis they are work checking out.

[Jessi]

How long does it take for the transfer to be completed using BahtSmart?

Edited January 17, 2015 by Jessi

[aussiebrian]

I believe this will give you a much better rate. When you are in Australia get yourself a Citibank VISA Debit Card. It is a non interest bearing account, but also no fees from Australia Citibank..I transfer money from my interest bearing account in Au$ into my Citibank account when I need it. Usually 1 day for transfer. When the money arrives in my Citibank card, I get an SMS to my Thai Phone. Check http://bankexchangerates.daytodaydata.net/default.aspx which will give you the Thai Bank with the best rate. Look at TT rate when you are taking money out of an ATM. Go to that bank with the best rate to draw money from the ATM. The only fee is now 180 Baht from The Thai bank ATM fee. The Au$ is converted to Thai Baht in Thailand. You will receive another SMS when you take out more than $500. Of course the more you withdraw the less the 180 baht fee will effect your rate. This will usually give you an even better rate than cash at a money exchange.

Edited January 17, 2015 by aussiebrian

[aparasher]

I checked their rate today. It still looks very low. I wished someone like Superrich could provide international transfer service. Look at some of Thai community pages on Facebook as there are many "private" money transfer services for small amount of cash.

[PINKERPINKER]

Jess: i sent the money Thursday afternoon and they had it the next day.

Brian, thanks for the info i will check it out. Yes Apara the Aussie dollar isnt great at the moment against the baht but i got a better rate with BahtSmart than with CBA.

[Iamemjay]

Thanks for the info. I'm checking it out. I've always used "third party" transfer agencies until last year when all but one - the "independent" one which is actually owned by Macquarie Bank - ceased operations with the Oz Government's crackdown on this industry.

These agencies have always been far cheaper, if not free, as regards fees and their exchange rates are usually more favourable too.

It is really interesting that a new player has been able to enter the market, despite the tightened regulations. Maybe its easier for a new player to conform to the new rules than it is for an established outfit to change radically???

As for the Citibank suggestion above. I've checked it and there is no way in the world I would go down that path. The rule of thumb I've adopted, to get any sort of satisfactory deal at all (all factors considered) is to stay as far from ANY bank as I can. Like you have done, I'll give this new alternative a try and see what happens.

[Aussieroaming]

Bloody hell...it's cheaper to fly over with cash and exchange at a good money changer.

[BahtSmart]

Hi Guys

I'm Dwight the CEO and founder of Bahtsmart. Some interesting questions raised above.

Yes it was extremely difficult to get a license to operate in Australia and a bank account. I think alot of it had to do with who the owners are. Myself and one of my partners have 35 years deep banking experience and we were able to put in place processes and procedures to meet the needs of the government and our bankers.

We have spent the last seven months building a team, an online web and mobile based platform and develop a product for our customers. We only launched in Dec 2014 but have seen alot of volume go through the platform. I know we are a better price than the Aussie Banks (not hard!) and for amounts under AUD3,000 we are currently better priced than Ozforex and the Thai Banks.

We are also pretty fast. Our transfers are completed same day if we receive your cleared funds in our ANZ account by 10 am Thai time or worst case next day.

We are a different service to the money changers you may find in large Australian cities. We don't accept cash and in Australia only internet bank money transfers from Oz banks and Credit Unions, etc... and we always pay through the Thai banking system. Meaning your cash is always safe and secure within the Australian and Thai banking system. Also you can always track your monies progress through our platform at www.bahtsmart.com

So give us a go. You can register online today at www.bahtsamrt.com (make sure you have a colour scanned or picture of your Australian passport or drivers license handy..so we can complete registration. Once done you can start transferring from as little as AUD100.

I also keep you guys updated of new products we are developing in the next few months to make it even cheaper to transfer large amounts through us..

Cheers

Dwight Willis

CEO BahtSmart